02 December 2010

The jaguar is the most feared and respected big cat in the Western hemisphere, according to some. To be expected, I suppose, given that the jaguar has an incredibly powerful bite, is extremely fast and very lethal to its prey. The jaguar, it is said, seldom goes hungry.

Jaguars are elusive. They are hard to find, difficult to track. There is a lot that isn't known about jaguars. Maybe this is as it should be. Maybe dangerous beauty isn't meant to be completely understood. Yet know them we must, if they are to survive the insensate appetites of man. So we keep studying, chasing, tracking.

In my more mytho-poetic moments, I feel el Tigre is my spirit brother from another mother. I feel the jaguar, understand it, want to be in its skin. Most days, though, I can only admire from afar, knowing that I have miles to go to match the power, vitality and mystery of the jaguar. Maybe I never will, but find myself not wanting to give up. I will probably go hungry more often than the jaguar would, I'm not so fast or powerful. Still, I will hunt. Someday, I will hold the keys to the spirit world, just like them.

ponder this...my mama had this exquisite jag...the classic old style one with the curves...cars got out of her way when she cruised a parking lot, garage doors opened at her command....and she went and sold it for a Lincoln town car...with an electric trunk and a beeping radar thing on the reverse, like a garbage truck. she has gone from warrior princess to old lady in one step.....